Hey Joe,
Very good question. The IWX office here has a criteria of sustained non-convective wind between 30 and 39 mph for > 1 hour and/or gusts between 45 – 57 mph. Apparently we had winds just under the criteria. Winds should be diminishing a bit through the afternoon and certainly toward evening.

Mike,
The winds are caused by the wild swings in temperatures. When we see these contrasts in temperature we are also dealing with dramatic differences in pressure. When these vast changes comes wind as the Earth’s atmosphere tries to equalize the pressure. In weather terms we call this a ‘tight gradient’.

That’s difficult to asses Mike. We have to look at the entire ‘big picture’. You know that in climate studies we look at several years of data at once to establish data. So when we look at the winter as a whole we may be able to make those assumptions. Not a ‘cop out’ I just need to see more data to make a statement like that.